Diaphragm-horn.



M. R. HUTOHISON.

DIAPHRAGM HORN.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 6. 1911.

h1g4, 1 37, Patented Jan. 5, 1915.

UNITED STATES glgrEnT OFFICE.

MILLER REESE HUTCHISO N, OF DEAL BEACH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO LOVELL-MCCONNELL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORA- TION OF DELAWARE.

DIAPHRAGM-HORN. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 5, 1915.

Original application filed October 26, 1909, Serial No. 524,762. .Divided and this application filed January 6,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MILLER REEsE TIUTCHISON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Deal Beach, in the county of Monmouth and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dia-phra -Horns, of which the following is a speci 'cation.

My present invention constitutes a division from my copending application Serial Number 524,762, filed October 26, 1909, and relates to horns or signaling devices wherein a vibratory member such as a diaphragm is actuated directly or indirectly by a rotary member or shaft of power driving mechanism. This shaft may be the armature shaft of an electric motor presented endwise to the diaphragm, preferably perpendicular thereto at the center thereof.

In the parent application above referred to, I have broadly claimed the main features of my improved construction and the general arrangement of the parts, and have also claimed specifically one form in which the diaphragm actuating mechanism is rigidly sustained against end thrust away from the diaphragm.

My present invention involves a construction and arrangement of parts whereby the diaphragm actuating mechanism or so much thereof as is proximate tothe diaphragm is yieldingly sustained in operative relation to the latter, or to the wear piece or contact surface associated therewith for engagement by the actuating mechanism.

The object of this construction is to enable the power driving mechanism or rotary actuator of the diaphragm to yield automatically to adjust itself to the exigencies of the running conditions, thereby to amume a more or less steady position corresponding to the best driving action under the particular conditions of speed of rotation, diaphragm-stiffness, etc. By a compromise be tween reaction of the .diaphragm tending to force the rotary actuator away and the influence tending to hold it up to its work the rotary member establishes a more or less definite position which corresponds to the maximum bodily movement of the diaphragm and a more powerful note for a given power consumption under the particular conditions.

Serial No. 601,113.

Having thus described the nature of my invention, 1 will now describe a practical embodiment thereof, in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein the view is a vertical section taken longitudinally of the drive shaft.

The horn or resonator 1, front case 2, pcripheral flange 3, diaphragm 4, clamps 5 and 6, and cork-like gaskets 7 8 are of any known construction and are in fact similar to one of the forms shown in my prior application Ser. No. 494,120, filed May 5, 1909. A casing 20 closed at its front by the diaphragm and inclosing the actuating parts in rear thereof, insures the presence of an inert body of air of fixed volume limiting the direction of projection of sound waves to the front of the casing. The contact member or surfaces associated with the diaphragm may be of any known or preferred construction, but are preferably formed for straight line contact with the rotary displacing member. Preferably the wear piece 61 is secured rigidly to the diaphragm, at the center thereof. Preferably it embodies a plurality of contact or impact members disposed in a circular series about the axis of the diaphragm, each contact member or surface having a similar surface diametrically opposed thereto. The contact mem bers of the wear piece 61 may be variously formed, but are shown for purposes of illustration as being in the nature of teeth of a face cam having straight inclined working surfaces and perpendicular backs. Obviously the contact members may be mounted so as to project from the diaphragm or to be in impulse-transmitting relation thereto, in a great variety of ways. It is shown as having a shank which is riveted over on the diaphragm, as indicated at 63, and brazing or welding may be resorted to.

The rotary driving means preferably in cludes the rigid armature shaft 10, of a motor having armature 13, polepieces l6 and 17, energizing coils 18 and 19, and

brushes 14, the particular construction of the motor not being illustrated or described in detail because it is or may be of an ordinary eommercial form. For most purposes I prefer a low voltage direct current shuntwound motor adapted to rotate always in one direction, regardless of the polarity of the current supplied thereto. The-driving shaft is preferably disposed perpendicular to the diaphragm in alinement with the axis thereof, though this may be varied. While the rotary element proximately engaging the diaphragm, maybe mounted in any way to give a yielding longitudinal movement, I regard it as more desirable to cause the drive shaft or a part rigidly fixed thereto to engage the contact members of the wearpiece 61 and provide means to allow the drive shaft to yield. To this end I- have shown a member 60, preferably in the nature of a face cam corresponding to the wear-piece ,61, fixed to the front end of a longitudinally movable armature shaft in position to engage the teeth of the wearpiece. I prefer to provide the element 60 with a plurality of teeth or hammer projections, arranged in opposed pairs as in the ease of the teeth of the wear-piece 61, so that the engagement between the contacting surfaces is always balanced at opposite sides of the diaphragm axis. All teeth or projections of the member 60 engage simultaneously with the contact members or teeth of the wear-piece 61, hence the number of impacts per revolution with this plurality will be the same as when there is only one tooth on the member 60.

Various means or arrangements may be employed for yieldingly sustaining the rotary driver, which is an impact or hammer member, in operative relation to the diaphragm or to the contact or impact members or surfaces associatedtherewith. A desirable and novel arrangement is that shown in the drawing wherein the armature and shaft are movable axially relatively to the field, which latter is displaced in a forward direction so as to exert a yielding forward pull in the nature of a solenoid action on the armature and armature shaft, and consequently on the member 60, to hold the latter normally toward oragainst the wearpiece 61. The amount of the yielding pull or pressure exerted on the rotary actuator or hammer member may be varied b axially shifting the field, which may be e ected by releasing the supporting screws 21, 22 and sliding them to and setting them at a new position in slots 90 in the case 20.

With the above described construction and arrangement of parts the rotary actuator or hammer will automatically find an intermediate position which will be the result of the solenoid pull toward the diaphragm and the cam thrust away from the diaphragm. An'adjustable limit stop, such as a screw 24 threaded in to the back of the case 20 in alinementwith the shaft and rovided with a lock nut 25, may be provi ed to prevent the actuator from being forced too far out of range of the diaphragm projection as might occur at high speeds or. with a very pact or contact members carried by the diaphragm. As the rotor gathers speed this tapping movement performed in a direction perpendicular to the diaphragm diminishes so as practically to cease, owing to the speed of rotation and the inertia of the parts being too great .to permit the rotary parts to spring forward when the successive teeth ride off each other. By this time, the rotating driving means has taken up a position more or less in rear of the contact surfaces of the diaphragm, where material further yielding does not take place. After the establishment of this position, the lateral camming blows of the hammer member act to successively cam the diaphragm outward so as to successively spring back during the subsequent normal operation of the signal. But should the parts get out of swing so that the diaphragm on a. reflex movement contacts with the hammer member in such man ner that the vibration of the diaphragm would be seriously interfered with were the actuating means unyielding, then such interference will be prevented by rearward yielding of the rotary device against the increasing solenoid pull which constantly tends to bring the hammer member forward to the automatically established running position.

I claim:

1. In a horn or signal, a diaphragm, and mechanical impact means for agitating the same, including a high speed rotary actuator yieldably sustained with reference to the diaphragm and having its axis at an angle to said diaphragm, and power means for driving said rotary actuator.

2. In a horn or signal, a diaphragm, and mechanical impact means for agitating the same, including a high speed rotary member adapted to set up diaphragm-vibrations and mounted and sustained so as to be self-adjustable with reference to the diaphragm and having its axis at an angle to said (imphragm, and power means for driving said same including a high speed driving shaft disposed at an angle to the diaphragm, the diaphragm and agitating means belng relatively self-adjustable by-movement having a component parallel with said shaft.

4:. In a horn or signal, a diaphragm, and mechanical impact means for agitating the same including a high speed driving shaft disposed in almement with the axis of the ac diaphragm, the agitating means being selfadjusting with reference to the diaphragm in a direction parallel to said shaft.

5. In a born or signal, a diaphragm, and mechanical impact means for agitating the same including a high speed rotary drive shaft, and means yieldingly sustaining the same whereby the shaft is self-adjusting with reference to the diaphragm.

6. In a horn or signal, a diaphragm, and mechanical impact means for agitating the same including a rigid high speed rotary drive shaft, and means yieldingly sustaining the same for self-adjusting endwise movements.

7. In a horn or signal, a diaphragm, and mechanical impact means for agitating the same including a rigid high speed. rotary drive shaft arranged at an angle to the diaphragm and endwise self-adjustable with reference thereto.

8. In a horn or signal, a diaphragm, and

mechanical impact means for agitating the same including a high speed rotary drive shaft arranged at an angle to the diaphragm and endwise self-adjustable with reference thereto.

9. In a born or signal, a diaphragm, and mechanical impact agitating means including a rotary high speed drive shaft disposed at an angle to the diaphragm, and means yieldingly sustaining said driveshaft in op erative relation to the diaphragm and per-, mitting endw'ise yielding and restoring movements of the shaft.

10. A mechanical horn embodying therein a flexible diaphragm and a yieldingly sustained rotary head normally projected axially of and toward said diaphragm, whereby said diaphragm will be flexed by the rotary or side impact of said head, and said diayieldingly mounted, said part including the" head and diaphragm-engaging members carried by said head and adapted to travel past and engage with said circularly arranged elements on the diaphragm.

12. In a born or a signal, a diaphragm, a symmetrical case arranged with its axis perpendicular to the center of said diaphragm, an electric motor and means for applying the power of said motor to vibrate said diaphragm, said means comprising an armature shaft element for said motor perpendicular to said diaphragm at its center,

and a diaphragm engaging element carried by said shaft, one of said elements-being yieldingly mounted. J

13. In a horn or signal, a diaphragm, provided with an actuator engaging element located away from the center of the diaphragm, and diaphragm actuating means including an armature shaft having its axis perpendicular to the diaphragm at its center, field magnets symmetrical with respect to said axis, a head rotated by the armature shaft and diaphragm engaging elements carried by said head at a distance away from the axis of rotation thereof, and movable circularly about the center of the diaphragm, a part of said means being yieldingly mounted whereby said diaphragm engaging elements may move toward and from said diaphragm.

14. A mechanical horn embodying therein a flexible diaphragm carrying a plurality of impact members concentric with the axis of said diaphragm and a yieldably mounted head rotatable about an axis at right angles to said.

a flexible diaphragm, an impact member I adapted to engage and flex said diaphragm, and means imparting a rotary movement to said member on a plane parallel to said diaphragm, said member being free at all times to be moved toward and from said dia phragm under a force exerted axially of said diaphragm.

16. In an automobile horn, the combination of a vibratile diaphragm, means for actuating said diaphragm including a slidable rotary armature and mechanical means for transmitting rotary motion of said armature into vibratory motion of said diaphragm and electromagnetic means for sliding said armature.

17. In an automobile born, the combination of a vibratile diaphragm, means for operating said diaphragm, including a 1'0- tary slidable armature shaft and mechanical means for transmitting the movement of the armature to the diaphragm and electromagnetic means for sliding said armature shaft.

18. In an alarm or signaling device, the combination of two cooperating members, one of said members being movable axially into and out of operative position in respect to the other member and rotatable to effect the production of sound when in operative position, and an electric motor including a rotary, slidable armature secured to and movable with said rotatable and axially movable member and a field operating when energized to move said armature axially by solenoid pull and hold said members in proper operative relationship.

19. In an alarm or signa ing device, the combination of an electric motor including a rotary armature and a field, said armature being free to move axially within predetermined limits, sound producing mechanism including a rotor connected to said armature and rotatable and movable axially to operative or inoperative positions, the relative arrangement of the parts being such that the field of the motor exerts solenoid pull to hold said rotorin operative position when the said field is energized and permits the axial movement of said rotor to inoperative 15 

